CHAPTER THIRTY
Some time had gone by since the party at the Yaoyorozu mansion. Rio and Momo had grown a lot closer and had been talking constantly on the phone. They'd already made plans and scheduled his next visit to her place.
That was not the only takeaway he got from that encounter, though. It had changed the way he viewed quirks entirely; he intended to explore it deeply.
Thankfully, the internet had more to offer than people gave it credit for. Most overlooked the obscure corners of quirk theory, but Rio saw them as hidden gems. Some of the most fascinating pieces came from a certain Dr. Garaki. The man had been a genius, no question—but oddly, he hadn't published anything new in years.
Still, what was available gave Rio enough to start forming a theory. He divided quirks into three categories based on how they worked: the mental, the physical, and the metaphysical. It wasn't a perfect system, but most quirks had elements of at least two, if not all three.
He knew his eidetic memory was not inherent to him; it was a feature he got on his quirk awakening. Many memories of the time before he awakened were already becoming blurry.
He had started looking into ways he could train it. For now, he was trying to see if he could replicate one of the effects of the Sharingan doujutsu.
'Predictive Insight.'
He could observe minute changes in a person's stance, breathing, and the twitch of their muscles to instantly predict what their next actions would be. It was an ability he didn't think he would ever use unless he had exhausted nearly all his Speed Force and needed to fight in low power mode.
The other thing he could do that was really fun was coming next.
Rio opened his laptop as he loaded up a martial arts tutorial video. He booted up and switched to the scene of a master martial artist explaining a kata to her students. Rio wasn't listening to what she was saying, though. He focused intently on the screen as he watched the woman's movements.
He then clicked pause on the video as he squared up and visualized the movements she had just displayed. He set his feet apart and went through all the katas she displayed. If an outside observer were to watch, they would notice that his movements were eerily similar to what the woman on the screen had shown.
Rio finished his demonstration and breathed out a sigh.
'I can copy the movements, but there's no power to them. I need to observe in person what muscles are involved in the movements. If not, I'll only have the form and not the essence,' Rio thought to himself as he headed to the fridge and picked up a can of orange juice.
He wasn't a fan of it initially, but Tenya had gotten him hooked on the drink.
Another thing worthy of note was the physical aspect of how his quirk worked. Body mass conversion into Speed Force energy. He broke down fats, muscle tissue, and anything in between to generate energy—mostly fat, but if he pushed himself too far, the energy would start being drawn from muscle and his cells.
He couldn't store the excess energy he had when it was not needed.
No matter what he tried, it seemed set in stone.
Pure conversion. No storage at all involved.
Trying to tackle this problem got him wondering. What if he could change that? What if he could store minute amounts of energy over time and access it when he needed it?
The lack of energy was the major thing holding him back; creating a means of energy storage would resolve his greatest flaw.
The Speed Force itself was the metaphysical part. He could explain how most quirks worked, but not the Speed Force. It was incomprehensible. There were no concrete rules to it. The only one he had surmised was that it responded to the will of the user.
Rio finished writing down his observations in a notebook. It would be a long series covering all the knowledge he gained studying quirks and related phenomena—an idea Momo had pitched to him in one of their chats.
Rio came down from the car and stood before a dull gray building with his hands in his pockets, staring up at the sign that read Quirk Correctional Counseling – Juvenile Wing. The lettering was peeling, and the security camera above the door clicked softly as it rotated in lazy arcs.
His mother wasn't there.
She'd called that morning, apologizing for not being able to take him. It had been some last-minute work emergency. She said she hadn't wanted to miss it. But she'd made Sebastian promise to see him off.
Now, Sebastian stood beside him, arms crossed in his usual professional stance, dressed like he'd just stepped off a magazine cover—in white shirt, navy slacks, sunglasses tucked neatly into his collar.
"Remember to let your mother know how it goes," he said his voice monotone. "She'll be worried."
Rio just gave him a half-hearted wave and walked toward the entrance.
Inside, the building wasn't much better. The walls were painted off-white with poorly drawn cartoon mascots plastered along the corridor, each one mid-speech about why breaking the law was a very bad idea. One particularly deranged-looking duck held up a sign that said, Don't torch your neighbor's fence. Be a good egg!
He resisted the urge to sigh.
Checking his phone, he found the forwarded message from his mum. The address matched, and below that was a long list of regulations. Dress modestly. Be respectful. No use of quirks. Follow the counselor's instructions.
He scrolled past it.
The hall opened up ahead—an empty expanse of desks and noise.
It was chaos.
There were maybe six people.
Kids his age and younger lounged across the chairs like they owned the place. Laughter bounced off the walls. Someone chucked a bottle cap at someone else's head. Phones buzzed. Music played from somewhere in the back.
A boy with flaming hair—the actual hair, not dyed, but literal fire licking the air around his scalp—laughed loudly at something the girl beside him said.
She had shoulder-length purple hair and waved her hands animatedly, talking fast.
Next to her sat what could only be described as a pile of rocks vaguely shaped like a person. It gestured as it spoke, gravel shifting with each movement.
One desk over, a blonde girl with striking features flipped lazily through a book, completely disinterested in the noise around her.
Further down, a boy lounged on top of his desk, legs swinging, tail swishing lazily behind him. Wolf ears twitched atop his head as he tapped away on his phone, pretending he hadn't just tossed a bottle cap at someone.
And then there was Rio—perfectly normal, perfectly average, walking into a room that didn't feel built for people like him.
He found an empty seat near the back, ignoring the sudden hush that fell over the others.
They stared at him. All of them.
A particular boy, who looked like a golden retriever, turned toward him. Dog boy tilted his head like a curious pup and, after a moment, hopped down and walked straight toward him.
No hesitation. Just instinct.
What now? Rio kept still, watching the adorable creature approach.
The boy sniffed once. Then again.
"New kid!" he declared cheerfully, eyes lighting up. "Smells like soap and disappointment! Woof!"
Rio blinked. 'Did he just—'
"I'm Kenji!" the boy said, tail wagging behind him. He gave another woof as punctuation, then leaned closer, practically vibrating.
"What's your quirk? What are you in for? Did you blow something up? Ooh, did you eat someone? Kiba nearly ate someone. Woof!"
The boy with the wolf ears had his ears drooping in embarrassment.
Rio stared at him in disbelief. 'What in the actual fuck. I punched a villain in the fac and I was deemed unstable, this guy is literally a cannibal'
"No," Rio muttered, leaning back slightly. As expected, Kenji really didn't understand boundaries.
The others were watching now.
The flaming boy, the purple girl, and the rock kid had stopped their conversation to size him up, like they were figuring out where he fit on the food chain.
"Hey, you gonna talk or just sit there all stiff?" the flame-haired boy asked, grinning. "You look like you swallowed a lightbulb."
"Deadass, looks like he swallowed a light bulb," the purple-haired girl agreed, smirking. "He's probably aura farming. One of those 'my quirk's too dangerous' types. Oooh, what a Sigma."
"I'm not nervous," Rio said flatly, picking his ears in disinterest. His only thought right now was 'What even is aura farming?'
That only seemed to encourage them.
The rock kid leaned forward, voice gravelly but amused. "So what landed you here, new guy?"
"I'd rather not say."
There was a beat of silence. Then Kenji pouted. "Aw, come on! That's boring. Woof."
"Yeah, don't be a Toga," the fire boy said, rolling his eyes.
Rio glanced toward the blonde girl with the book. She didn't react to the name, just lazily flipped a page.
Either she was very good at ignoring people, or she was used to the jab.
Still, the name stuck—Toga. He filed it away.
The rock kid pointed at himself proudly.
"I dug a tunnel from my house into the subway. Couldn't stop myself. Got arrested by three pro heroes. One of 'em used to be on TV."
The fire boy raised a hand.
"I burned down two stores. Accidentally. The second one was on purpose."
The purple-haired girl grinned wide.
"On god, I robbed five convenience stores. Got caught lackin' on the sixth. Not bad for nine, right?"
Rio didn't reply.
What kind of clown show did I walk into?
"Tch. You're such a buzzkill," the fire boy muttered.
Kenji gave another sniff, then backed off with a shrug.
"You'll talk eventually. They always do. Woof."
Before anyone could say anything else, the door at the front of the hall creaked open.
Every kid in the room stiffened.
A woman entered someone who Rio noted as Doctor Hibiki from earlier. Tall, dark blouse, glasses. She looked harmless at first glance.
But the moment her heels clicked against the tile, every student scrambled back to their seats like roaches from a flashlight.
Rio felt the shift immediately. Whatever freedom they'd felt before had evaporated.
"Good morning," she said, her voice unnaturally bright. "Let's begin."
The silence was heavy. "One at a time now kids. Please introduce yourselves."
Nobody spoke at first. Then, one by one, they stood up.
The long-haired boy with hair like a curtain rose first. "Riku," he mumbled, barely audible, and sat right back down.
The fire-headed boy followed, standing with an exaggerated smirk. "My name's Hayato," he said. His tone was cocky, but Rio caught the tension in his shoulders. He sat without another word.
The purple-haired girl flipped her hair dramatically as she stood. "Sae," she announced with flair, tossing in a wink. But it didn't reach her eyes.
The blonde girl stood next.
"Himiko Toga."
The woman paused.
"Well done, Himiko," she said with a sickly-sweet tone. "Of all our students, you've shown the best response to treatment. If you keep it up, you may be acquitted early."
The others shifted uncomfortably, eyes down. Himiko sat back down, her expression unreadable.
Then the woman pulled out a remote, turned on the projector, and sat at her desk.
She pulled out her phone and didn't look up again.
The projection began—a lecture about emotional regulation, peer pressure, and the responsible use of quirks. The voice was dull, the animation low-budget. It should've been a joke.
Rio scoffed at the idea that this would reform anyone.
But the kids watched.
All of them. Not a single quip. Not a single word. Just silence.
Rio leaned back in his seat, eyes flicking to the woman behind the desk.
She still hadn't looked up.
He didn't know what this place was supposed to be—but it definitely wasn't what he'd imagined.
And doctor Hibiki? She was a problem.